At his request we examined ourselves. We found bruises; I had barked my shins, Hill’s nose was skinned, and though it was a cold night we were both bathed in perspiration.
We affected not to understand, and the Pimple gave us a lurid account of the night’s performance. Then we turned to the Spook for further light on the subject.
In preparing us for the trance-talk the Spook had warned us: “It is like a battle. While I am attacking AAA at Constantinople, the opposition may suddenly counter-attack on my mediums, and as I have told you, I have no reserves.” This was exactly what happened; our Spook put us into a trance and turned his force on AAA. While he was doing so, OOO stepped in, pretending to be AAA., and taking advantage of the trance state of the mediums counter-attacked by leading them, not to the third clue, but into a trap. It had been a second and most brutal attempt to kill the mediums. Our Spook had arrived back from Constantinople just in time to interpose between us and the “explosion,” and to divert the missiles. “The missiles themselves are of course invisible in your sphere,” our Spook explained, “but their results, and the results of the explosion you heard, are visible. Would you like to see them?”
“Is there no danger?” Moïse asked.
“No, I am with you,” said the Spook.
We took a candle and went cautiously downstairs and into the hall below. The place was in a fearful mess. At the end where we had entered, the floor was deep in broken plaster, and in the wall, all round the spot where we had been standing when the explosion took place, were ten great holes. Moïse probed those he could reach with shaking fingers, but found no missiles. As the Spook had said, the “missiles were invisible.” Awestruck, we returned upstairs.
“The mediums and I thank you sincerely,” said Moïse to the Spook. “It was a dreadful explosion. We are grateful to you.”
“You are a brave man, Moïse,” the Spook replied. “I congratulate you. Your presence on the stair and your stamping helped me. Well done! But you see it is very dangerous. I think you are satisfied it is too risky. You had better consent to Plan 2.”
Moïse was satisfied—eminently satisfied—but Hill and I were not. We protested against leaving Yozgad, and wanted to try again, whatever the danger might be. But Moïse had had enough. He agreed with the Spook that we ought to try another plan, that this was too risky, and when we would not yield he went off to tell the Commandant that he would resign his position as “sitter” and give up the treasure unless we agreed to being moved as the Spook suggested. He returned with the news that the Commandant was strongly in favour of Plan 2, because if his mediums were killed all hope of the treasure would be gone. Plan 2 entailed our leaving Yozgad.
We had got what we wanted. The Turks were now keen on moving us. We did not trouble to explain that the “explosion” which had frightened them was caused by Hill banging shut a heavy trap-door left open for that purpose, or that the ten “shell holes” in the wall represented some hard work with the pick we had borrowed for the treasure-hunt. Indeed, if we had said so, they would not have believed us!